Little Black Dress
by phoenician
Summary: After their first big adventure to Starship U.K., Amy gets settled in the TARDIS and has to defend some of her fashion choices to the Doctor.


**Little Black Dress**

**Author's Notes:** _Talking at length with a fellow DW fan, this idea started plaguing me. I'm a fan of Amy's fashion sense (and get a big kick out of the controversy it's caused), but would the Doctor really have short skirts and tights in the wardrobe? And, if I recall, Amy certainly didn't have time to pack before running away with him. Post-"The Beast Below". There are hints of romantic thoughts but I felt it fit better under friendship right now. All the usual disclaimers (not mine, just fun, etc). Thanks to tardis-mole for beta reading. Please R&R!_

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Amy Pond smiled to herself as she stood in the middle of what would become her room, for however long she was on board the TARDIS. She was getting settled in, having changed into some fresh clothes after a nice long shower while the Doctor flipped switches, pulled levers, or whatever he did in the control room to allow the TARDIS to coast while they slept. She was still learning her way around the ship, but she had found her way between the bathroom and the bunk just fine without any of the rooms moving around on her.

She judged the shirt before folding it once, twice. She placed it on stop of the stack of other shirts accumulating in the drawer.

On the bed was a curious Doctor, watching her move around the room as she put things away. He had joined her and hovered until she invited him to sit down, proceeding to take up most of the bed. His head was leaned against the wall as he sat, stretched out on top of the bedding. His hands were folded on his stomach.

If Amy didn't know any better, she'd say he was even pouting. "What?"

"I just don't see what was wrong with what I had in the wardrobe."

Yeah, he was definitely pouting.

As far as she was concerned, he could've said no to going to the shops before leaving the Starship UK.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes before she looked at him from over her shoulder. "Doctor, I can guarantee whatever you had in there wouldn't have suited me. And if I'm going to be running around with you to lord knows where, don't you want me to be comfortable?"

"Explain to me again how cowboy boots and tights are -"

"Right. This coming from the man in the jacket and bowtie. Which, might I add, you did _not_ get from the wardrobe."

Reflexively he touched the bowtie at his collar. "Hey, what did the bowtie ever do to you?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying. I'll stop talking about the bowtie if you don't talk about the boots."

"Fair enough," he pushed himself to sit up, resting his arms on bent knees. Idly, he picked up an article of clothing that waited for Amy on the bed. He held it up and his expression grew perplexed. His eyes slid over to Amy as he waved the shorts like a flag. "What about these? Can we talk about how short these -"

Amy interrupted him, snatching the shorts right out of his hand. "Are you going to criticize everything I wear? I can't always be in a nightie when you show up."

"You weren't always -" he went on the defensive, sitting straight up. "There was that kiss-a-gram outfit."

She wrinkled her nose. "The policewoman?"

"Yeah." Then he added, "I remember the skirt. Just as short as -"

"Got the point, Doctor," she cut him off. She already felt her face growing hot, glad to have the clothes to distract her. She could hide her reaction; the revelation that he had actually paid attention to the length of her skirt stunned Amy and it took her a moment to recover.

He inched toward the end of the bed, pushing himself up as he stood in the middle of the room. Amy watched him from the corner of her eye for a moment, still nervous in his presence. Nervous but in a good way. She had finally started the fairy tale adventure that she had been anticipating since she was seven. She wanted to be around him but she couldn't afford to fall in too deeply. Maybe now that she was here, in his time machine, she could let down the wall she had built up after that childhood disappointment.

She remembered how he felt in her arms when they embraced after saving the star whale and the Starship U.K. She was perfectly aware of their close proximity, especially now in her bunk.

"What's this?" he asked earnestly. She turned and saw him holding up the one piece of clothing she was shy to show him short of her under garments. He could hold up her short skirts and short shorts and she wouldn't bat an eye. But she clammed up as he held the black material in front of him, moving to see how the dress looked against his frame.

"Oh, I just.. uh... I don't know. I thought, just in case, I needed a dress to wear for you -"

He looked at her in the mirror, perplexed. "For me?"

"With you. _With_," she laughed anxiously, moving to take the dress from him.

She had seen it in the shop, not too far from the other clothes and she was overwhelmed by the look of it. Black satin with a high waist, a fitted skirt that would hit her mid-thigh. She really liked the neckline, which showed off her delicate skin of her shoulders and back. In the shop, she imagined different ways to wear her hair - and even the Doctor's reaction when he would see her in it.

"I know, it's ridiculous. But I couldn't help it. It was just so..." she laughed, taking the dress and finding an abandoned hanger in the wardrobe. She slipped it through the sleeves and hung it up against the wardrobe's frame, pausing when she realized what she was doing.

Another moment, another chance to tell him what waited for her in her time - the perpetual tomorrow morning. She had to redefine words like tomorrow and yesterday. Yesterday - the day before her wedding. She was hanging up a different dress in a different bedroom in a different time. But this one was black; it was meant to be sexy and grown-up. But a different grown-up than the wedding dress with the flowery lace. It was supposed to be cultured, worldly even. She smoothed out the material of its skirt as it rested on the wardrobe just like her wedding dress in her own bedroom.

She should really let the Doctor know, right?

It would be the right thing to do.

But when she opened her mouth, she inserted foot. "Big day tomorrow - helping the prime minister. Wintson Churchill. I probably need my sleep an' all."

The Doctor nodded, glancing away from her to survey the room. Was he disappointed that she was cutting their evening short? She watched him as he hesitated, looking like he belonged in this once-vacant room in his space-time ship but a little lost at the same time. She wanted to stay up and talk with him but she wouldn't be any use if she was exhausted.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor." Please leave before she changed her mind.

"Yes you will, Pond," his eyes lingered along the room before landing on her. He turned toward the door.

"Doctor?" She raised her voice to catch him before he left. He looked back at her. "Just so y'know, the boots -" The ones he brought up earlier? She watched as he raised his eyebrows before she continued. "They came from the wardrobe."

The Doctor flashed a faint smile and wagged his finger at her. His eyes flickered to the black material that hung behind her before looking at her. With a nod, he showed himself out and the door closed behind him.

Now, if only her nerves didn't keep her awake. They had a big day tomorrow.

**End.**


End file.
